Rise of the Fox Sage
by Ben Vilhaven
Summary: Sasuke Returns to the village, and sweeps Sakura off her feet. Naruto, unwilling to get in the way but unable to stand by and watch, leaves the village. But without Naruto, who will save the leaf when disaster strikes. NaruSake T for Safety
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Right, Well, Hmmmmm...I wasn't going to do this. I was sure of myself. I held all the cards after all. But ill hand it to NaruSaku19. He asked the one question I didn't want to answer. What would I do if I was the readers instead of the writer? Would I have the faith in this story that I kept asking of you all?

Truthfully, I never would have gotten so far into the story. I would have given it away after chapter one. So, a very big thank you to those who have more patience than me.

And so, without any further delays, I am proud to present to you, a rewrite.

Now, don't be thrown by the title. It will all be clear by chapter's end, well, sort of. The pairing remains, and always was, NaruSaku.

Oh, yeah, for those who are starting with this chapter, welcome. This story takes place in a slightly tweaked Narutoverse, Madara isn't the leader of Akatsuki, Pein is, or was, this starts about 12 - 18 months after his defeat. We also don't have Sasuke meeting Madara, as such. Tsunade didn't fall into a coma, and there was no manga war, consider events to have branched away from cannon somewhere just after the Pein fight.

Also I have decided to add a new section.

New section: Reviewer response. Well, here is where it would go, but since this is the reboot chapter there aren't really any reviews for the previous chapter yet.

So much for no further delays, huh? Anyway, here we go...again.

Note 2: I updated spelling in this chapter.

Rise of the Fox Sage (Rewritten)

By Ben Vilhaven

Chapter 1: The Wedding

_Haruno Residence_

_Morning of Sakura and Sasuke's wedding_

There she sat, trying desperately to drown out the noise around her. Her best friend, and maid of honour, Ino, wouldn't be quiet. She just kept droning on and on about how lucky Sakura was. Meanwhile, Inner Sakura continued the party she had been throwing on and off over the past two months, ever since Sakura had said yes to marrying Sasuke. But to top it all off, Sakura still couldn't shake the steadily growing feeling that something was, not wrong exactly, but certainly not right either.

"It's just nerves," she quietly reminded herself, but even to herself she didn't sound convincing.

She consoled herself, as she had for the last three weeks, with the memory of her first date, but it seemed that, with the stress of the coming wedding, the finality of her plans for this particular day, it all came out differently. There was no solace, no comfort there, only a growing, gnawing worry that wouldn't desist.

Sakura put on a brave face and took a deep breath. She wouldn't stop the wedding for a feeling, after all she loved Sasuke, and he loved her. They would figure this out together, and if that didn't work she would ask Naruto when he returned from his mission.

Not for the first time she wished Naruto hadn't accepted that mission.

_Three Weeks Earlier_

Naruto stood upon the Hokage monument, and looked out over the village. Little sign of the damage his fight with Pein had done remained, and the village bustled with new life. He drank in the view, relishing the sound of life that wafted up to his perch.

"Well Dad, I'm off, things to do, you know..." said Naruto to the stone engraving of his father's face, an air of sadness permeating his words.

Naruto had planned this day for weeks. He had spoken to the Hokage, all that was left was to speak to Sakura and Sasuke, and then it would be done.

His final objective in mind, Naruto summoned his ever present smile to his face, and set off in search of his two friends.

He found Sakura first. She was walking down Konoha's new main street. She was out shopping with Ino and her mother. Preparations for the wedding, he supposed. It didn't take much persuasion to get a few moments alone with her, the two of them ducked down a side alley for a little privacy. It was then that Naruto dropped his bombshell.

"Wait, Huh? What?" was all Sakura managed to get out.

"I won't be able to attend your wedding, I'm sorry, I have a mission," Naruto repeated.

The pink haired kunoichi couldn't believe her ears. Her best friend wouldn't be at her wedding because of a mission? Her legendary temper flared and Naruto had to dodge backward to avoid going through the wall of the building behind him.

"You...You Baka, what mission could possibly be more important than your best friend's wedding?" Sakura's voice rose with rage and Ino, hearing Sakura's raised voice, began walking towards the two friends.

That was when Naruto brought Sakura up short, with one word no less.

"Akatsuki," was all he said.

Sakura's rage cooled in an instant, and was instantly replaced with concern.

"Explain, Naruto," she demanded.

Naruto did just that.

"We have a lead on the last two Akatsuki members, and I am being sent to hunt them down before they can move on or recruit. I cannot, I will not, risk other lives on this, and the Hokage agrees. I am truly, truly sorry, but I have to go and I have to go now. I leave before nightfall."

"Wait, you're going alone?" Sakura's surprise was palpable.

"I beat Pein alone, besides, the tip off came from the Sand village, they are trailing them already, I'm just reinforcements. I need to see this through personally. This is Akatsuki. I can't let them hurt my friends again."

Sakura looked into Naruto's eyes, and saw only sadness buried there, and she knew that if he didn't go, it would all be for nothing.

She embraced him tightly.

"It won't be the same without you," was all she ended up saying.

"I know, I'm sorry."

"Stay safe Naruto!"

With that Naruto was off, up to the rooftops, and onto his last errand.

Sakura was left in the alley, her mother and Ino close by. Sakura was left with the task of relaying the news as a feeling she couldn't quite begin to describe or understand slowly began to blossom in her chest.

Naruto found Sasuke and told him the same news he had told Sakura. Sasuke's stoic gaze and cool demeanor never faltered as he heard of how and why his best man had to leave him in the lurch. Naruto finished his story, and was about ready to depart, but he had one more thing for the dark haired nin.

"Sasuke, this is for you," said Naruto as he held out a sealed envelope. "I want you to read it the morning of your wedding, and give it to Sakura when the time is right, you'll understand when you read it," Naruto explained.

Sasuke took the letter and with a muttered "Good luck," began walking away from his blonde haired friend.

Naruto, his errands done headed to his home to gather his equipment, and then headed out the main gate, waving goodbye to the guards as he departed.

_Three Weeks Later_

_Sasuke Uchiha's Residence_

Sasuke stared down at the letter in his hands in disbelief. True to his word Sasuke had opened it the morning of his wedding and it had thrown everything right out the window. The only question now was what to do about it.

"Naruto..." Sasuke growled, "I'll kill you for this."

Sasuke sighed, and ran his hands through his hair. He knew what he had to do now. He didn't want to do it, but it was the right thing.

He left his home, dressed in his finest clothes and headed straight for Sakura's house. There were things that needed to be discussed.

_Haruno Residence_

"What? No...Don't say that!"

Sakura's voice could be heard throughout the house. Sasuke had arrived a few minutes ago, much to everyone's surprise, and demanded to speak with Sakura.

Sasuke replied in a calm and controlled voice. Much as he was also upset, he figured at least one of them had to stay calm, and it certainly wasn't going to be Sakura.

"Read the letter for yourself," was all he said as he held it out to her.

Sakura grabbed the proffered letter and began reading. The feeling of wrongness she had been trying to suppress resurfaced with renewed vigor and gnawed at her.

Sasuke and Sakura,

First off I have to apologize. This eats at me even now as I write this, knowing what I am planning. I lied to the both of you, and I am truthfully and deeply sorry.

Secondly, I am not coming back to the village. The mission to hunt down Akatsuki is a cover for my departure, there is no mission.

I care deeply for you both, you are the closest thing to a family I have, but seeing you two together will tear me apart. So I do the only thing that I can do to keep you both happy, and preserve my own sanity.

Please forgive me.

Protect the village in my place Sasuke. It is your home now too.

Sakura, I am sure you have blossomed into a happy and strong kunoichi.

Live well together,

Naruto

Naruto was gone.

Naruto was gone!

Sakura couldn't believe it. One might as well have tried to convince her that the sun no longer shone.

Sakura collapsed into a chair as the feeling that had once gnawed at her soul erupted into full blown panic. Her hands began to shake and became weak to the point that she couldn't even hold onto the letter. It slipped from her grasp. She tried desperately, but in vain, to catch it before it hit the floor.

Sasuke bent down, concern evident in his face.

Pain, Panic, Despair. These were all Sakura knew. She didn't know why she felt this way, and as she reached vainly for something, anything, to beat back this tide of darkness, she instinctively grasped at the memory that had been her solace against the dark over the preceding weeks. But that wasn't what came to her mind.

All she could see was blond hair, blue eyes and a dazzling smile.

Over and over again, she had seen this face. It's smile blinding her each time.

Time and time again, it's warmth had been her guide.

Naruto, he had been her rock.

Sakura finally began to see. All the times he had been there. Everything he had done. All for her, without a moment's thought of reward.

Sakura had something that people could only dream of, and in a moment of revelation, a spark of crystal clear clarity, she finally understood what had been wrong, what she had been feeling, and what she had to do.

Tears began to flow, and she hoped beyond measure that it wasn't already too late.

Sasuke just stood there as Sakura began to weep, his alarm growing more obvious with every passing second.

"Sakura, are you ok? Sakura!" he demanded of the tearful woman.

With a deep breath, and every ounce of energy and determination she could muster the tears stopped flowing. She had to tell Sasuke what she had learned, what she had decided, whatever the consequences. To do anything else was to betray her own soul.

She turned to the dark nin, a man she loved, and said four fateful words.

"Sasuke, I love Naruto!"

To Be Continued

A/N: Well, that took a long time to write, and a cliffhanger, what will Sasuke do now?

I would also like to take the chance again to thank everyone who has been so patient with this fic. I will try to update more often, but you know me, I always say that. Although I am no longer working 52-hour weeks, so that should help a little.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors note:** So who thought I'd died? Who at least thought the story had died? I did, well, sorta. Writing this out was never about the story for me, it's all in my head, I can see and enjoy all of it whenever I want. Writing it up was always about sharing it, and until now I just haven't had the impetus to do so like I did before. Not that I updated often anyway.

Make sure to read the note at the end as it explains a few things about this chapter.

Also, though I am not the sort of person to beg for reviews, they keep us authors motivated. This is all I'm going to say about it, except for the occasional "Please, review".

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><p><strong>Reviews: (I put the review in parenthesis so you can remember what you said.)<strong>

EroSlackerMicha – (well here we go again. now let's see where it goes. keep it up.)

Yup, here we go again, and yes Ill try to keep it up, but now that I look at the date you reviewed and see its been almost a year….whoops!

Animaman – (Well, it would make more sense then the last one since a few chapters later, she already has a few kids, which would have been a deadend for the story to begin with.)

That is one way of looking at it, although I must respectfully disagree, though only because I knew the future. One day I'll have to post my original story outline, so everyone can be on the same page. Can't do it now though, as I'm still using it. Anyway, hope you enjoy.

Habu2010 – (Not bad, please update soon)

Tried, but it took a year…I'll try to be faster for the next one. 6 months?

ultranx – (epi so far, can't wait to see what happens next)

Wait no longer.

Charles cdv – (I like it)

Thanks Mate. Yes, I'm Australian, I say mate.

Cloud Ex-SOLDIER- (I'll give this rewrite a shot and see where it goes.)

Thanks

El Frijolero – (Nice chapter I hope you update soon.)

Thanks, and so do I, hope ill update that is.

Scorpio from outer space – (update, update, update. Nice strory!)

Ok, I'll try. Thanks.

Gold Testament – (Ok so far this seems like a better rewrite of the story)

Thanks.

KCWolfman – (Well thank everything that is holy that you decided to do a rewrite. After showing what a slutt Skaura was while Naruto was away (3 freaking kids) and having Sasuke become the next Hokage. I had given up all hope for this story and was going to take it off my alerts. Now I'll wait and see where you will go with the new story. You wanted to know about spelling errors, it's Akatsuki not Akutski.)

Well, Ill simply say I had reasons for what I did. Not that they are important now. Also, thanks for the heads up about that spelling error. I hope you enjoy version two.

Forfeit – (Like the first chap of your reboot so far. I hope this reboot is something you want as well. Thanks for the effort to make your writing proofread/easy to understand. :) Good luck!)

Thanks. To be honest, I was happy with the first version, knowing where it was going. As I said above, though, the act of writing it out was about sharing, which isn't worth it if no one will read it. Its minor changes in the grand scheme, and I can enjoy either version whenever I want. I live my stories before I ever write them down.

butterflyV – (I actually read this the first time round, and it was becoming more of a hard sell as a Naruto/Sakura fic, when it looked clearly like it was going down the path of Sakura/Sasuke. I encourage you to make it better than the last time.)

Thanks for the encouragement. I promise to give it my all, that's all I know how to do.

kevinplr2h – (Please keep at it!)

I did. Sort of….

sortofbored - (Great story so far. I would love to see more.)

Have some more!

Silveroaks – (Great story so far!)

Thanks

Foxxel – (DAMN IT DEWD. UPDATE. WHY, WHYYYY)

I'm still here, don't worry.

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><p><strong>Rise of the Fox Sage<strong>

**By Ben Vilhaven**

**Chapter 2: To Start New Lives**

_Haruno Residence_

_Present Time_

"Sasuke, I love Naruto!"

Sakura bared her true self to her brother in arms. The man, until moments before, she would have sworn was the one for her. The truth was that he wasn't, but it was so very late in the process to change her mind. She didn't know what Sasuke would do.

What he did do surprised even her...

"I know," he said. "I know you love Naruto, have known it for a while now. It was obvious in the way you looked at him when he was with us. I guess you weren't the only one fooling themself into thinking this would work."

Sasuke paused, and sighed, and paused again, obviously gathering himself for something.

"Talking about emotions has never been my strong point," he said, the irony not lost on either of the young ninja. Sasuke never talked about how he was feeling, with anyone.

"When I had succeeded... After I had killed my brother, I was in a dark place. I was lost in the dark, alone, but I found light. I remembered my home, my team, my friends, most of all, Sakura, I remembered you. You were my light, I came back because of you, and since then you and Naruto have shown me that my life only has lasting meaning when I share it with others."

Sasuke paused, and Sakura realized how serious Sasuke was being, he needed her to understand this. After a deep breath the young man continued.

"When you said yes to marrying me, I was happy, truly happy, for the first time in so long, but I was blinded by your light. I thought you had chosen me over him, that it would all work out.

I was wrong.

You care for us both, but you love him, and he you. If I can ever come close to forgiving myself for what I put him, and you, through, how can I take away his future, what he fights for, his heart? Sakura, I will always love you, but you and him are made for each other, and I will do everything in my power to put things right."

Sakura was stunned, she knew that Sasuke was a good man buried beneath all that pain, but today he had shown himself, bared himself to her, as she had to him. She felt surer now than ever that he would find someone for himself, someone good and right, just for him, just as she was right for Naruto.

The two ninja sat in silence for what seemed like forever, until Sasuke, ever the practical ninja, broached the subject of what came next.

"My mum's going to kill me," said Sakura, half joking. Her mother had worked so hard to make the wedding 'perfect'.

"We will face what comes together. Let everyone enjoy themselves today. Tomorrow, we talk to the Hokage, and go after Naruto," said Sasuke, sure of himself. Sakura smiled in agreement, content that everything would be ok, that Team 7 would soon be whole.

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><p><em>Next Day<em>

_Hokage's Office_

Tsunade sat behind her desk, thinking and waiting. She was waiting for a certain pink haired apprentice of hers, and possibly her teammate, ex fiancé now, to make an appearance. She had her suspicions about why the wedding was called off, at the last second no less, but she wanted to hear it from her students own mouth.

She didn't have to wait long.

With a swift knock, and practiced ease, the Hokage's apprentice slipped into Tsunade's office, Sasuke at her side.

"Ah, Sakura, Sasuke, come in. I've been expecting you," said the Hokage, not surprised that these two had come to see her. She had more than an educated guess at what had happened the previous day. Nevertheless, she wanted to hear it from the two standing in front of her.

"Master, we have a request..." started Sakura. She had hardly spoken when Tsunade interrupted.

"What happened?"

That was all Tsunade said, and it was more than enough. Tsunade sat back, leaning her chin on her steepled fingers as she listened to the two before her give an account of their breakup, and their resolution to retrieve Naruto, at any cost.

"So, you see, we've come to seek permission to go after Naruto. We're already packed, say the word and we go," finished Sakura, expecting a rapid assent, and an equally rapid departure.

Tsunade's response was anything but.

"Sakura, Sasuke, as Hokage I cannot permit you to pursue Naruto." Tsunade held up her hand to forestall the stunned outburst of Sakura.

"Let me explain," she said. "Though, before I begin, you need to know that what I am about to tell you is considered an A-ranked secret. It doesn't leave this room. Am I clear?"

Upon receiving nods of assent from the two stunned teenage ninja, Tsunade continued.

"Konoha is weak at the moment. Though it's been 18 months, the rebuilding is still not entirely complete. Our reputation as a strong ninja village is in tatters. 6 missing nin leveled what was supposed to be the strongest ninja village in the elemental nations. That doesn't look good to our clients, or our enemies.

There are villages out there that want to see us fall, the rock and cloud villages never got over the humiliation of the third great ninja war, and the assault by the 4th Hokage. If we were truly as weak as we seem, it would be war. Our spy networks tell us that there are elements in foreign villages calling for war even now.

The only thing that saved us was Naruto. Six enemy ninja leveled the place. One Konoha ninja finished those six, on his own. The fact that Naruto was here prevented the fourth great ninja war. The only thing holding war back, now that he is gone, is disinformation. As far as everyone is concerned, Naruto is on a mission, and can be recalled at any time. If you go hunting him, by necessity, people will know he is gone, and in the current climate that only means war. As Hokage, I cannot permit you to attempt to retrieve Naruto at this time, despite my personal feelings to the contrary."

"But...what if we went in secret...what if we ran away?"

Sakura, despite everything still hadn't given up.

"Two problems with that," replied the Hokage. "One, Sasuke cannot leave the village without my express permission, which I cannot give, for two years yet, without arousing suspicion. Two, what would you tell everyone who asked you why you were going? You can't tell them it's to retrieve Naruto."

Sakura had no answer. As for Sasuke he was as stunned as when he had been sentenced, in this very office, for his crimes against the village.

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><p><em>18 Months Previously<em>

Sasuke stood before the Hokage bound, and surrounded by ANBU. He felt weak from having his chakra suppressed and from the interrogation techniques that had been used on him. He knew starvation and torture were common in the ninja world, but he had never experienced them first hand. He couldn't blame them though, he was an enemy now.

Nevertheless, here he stood, that particular ordeal behind him, a new one just starting. This was where his fate would be decided.

He had no doubt he would die, he had known that when he returned. Even if a small portion of him hoped for what he once had here, he knew that there was no way it could be again. He had come, basically, to die. There was nothing left but what once was, so to die here was the closest thing he could imagine to a complete life.

To his left, out of the corner of his eye, he could see them, his former teammates. They had been allowed to watch, but only if they said nothing. Sasuke considered it a minor miracle that Naruto had been able to keep his mouth shut up until now. Naruto talked too much, as far as Sasuke was concerned.

Sakura stood beside Naruto, a hand placed tentatively on his forearm, to hold him back, Sasuke presumed.

Tsunade began.

"Sasuke Uchiha, you have been charged with Treason, Desertion, and Assault. How do you plead?"

Sasuke knew it was true. Everyone in the room, the village, probably the known world, knew it was true. Sasuke responded in the only way he could.

"Guilty," was all he said.

"Then I shall pass sentence," continued the Hokage. "The only possible sentence for these crimes is death."

Sasuke saw Naruto flinch, and Sakura's grip tightened noticeable on her comrade's arm. Before could be said, however, the Hokage continued.

"However, given the mitigating circumstances in this case, I feel obligated to make an exception. I will state my reasoning for the record.

Regarding the charges of Treason and Desertion, Sasuke Uchiha's mental state must be regarded as severely compromised. The trauma from witnessing the death of his family, and the resultant drive for revenge, are directly responsible for Sasuke Uchiha's behavior. The fact that he surrendered peacefully, and has expressed a desire to return to the village must also be considered.

We must not also forget that during his absence he eliminated Orochimaru and Itachi Uchiha, two of the most dangerous missing ninja this village has produced in recent history.

As for the charge of Assault, the ninja in question, one Naruto Uzumaki, refuses to testify against the accused. I cannot condemn a man for something I cannot prove happened, even with the overwhelming circumstantial evidence we have on hand, the death penalty requires an eye witness.

As such the sentence for Sasuke Uchiha's crimes will be as follows. First, Sasuke Uchiha will be required to attend weekly counseling sessions until such time as he is declared fit for duty. If he is so declared, he will be reinstated to the Konoha ninja core at the rank of Genin, and have his chakra restored to him.

Until such time, he will assist with the rebuilding of the village as a civilian. His and show diligence in this task will begin to earn the trust of the ninja core the villagers of Konoha that he truly wishes to be accepted by them.

Finally, Sasuke Uchiha, you are forbidden from leaving the confines of this village for any reason, short of a village wide emergency, without my express personal permission. You are so confined for a period of 1302 days, the length of time you were absent from this village.

Any violation of these conditions will be seen as an intention to betray this village and thus met with deadly force. This is your only chance, Uchiha, make use of it."

Sasuke didn't know what to think. He was, somehow, a free man. Well, he was confined to the village, but he was free to roam its streets. His whole world seemed to spin for a moment. Everything he had expected had been turned on its head.

Sasuke looked over to where Naruto had been standing only moments before. The bright orange idiot was bouncing up and down like a little child. At least he was, until Sakura stopped him, with a single blow. Sasuke decided to never make Sakura mad then and there.

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><p><em>The Present<em>

Just as he had had everything he expected turned on his head then, it was the same again. He had sworn he would do anything to retrieve Naruto, but to plunge the leaf into war? Neither he, nor, he felt, Naruto, could forgive that.

"Sakura, Sasuke," the Hokage continued. "I know you want to go get Naruto, but for now he is out of your reach. I promise you, as soon as I think it's safe to send you, I will. I will give your team priority on any mission where I think you might run into him. I will do what I can, but you also need to do what you can. When the time comes, be ready."

To Be Continued...

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><p>Ok, Authors Note Time:<p>

Sorry that it is so short, but I had a set start and end point and had to work within those constraints.

Yes, Sasuke got his freedom, sort of. Mainly it was for the reasons stated. Also, Sasuke is a strong ninja, he killed Orochimaru and Itachi. The village needed strong ninja, and he wanted to return. Given the circumstances in Konoha at the time, and the circumstances surrounding Sasuke, I can see him being given a chance, a small one, with lots of conditions, but a chance. Also, 1302 days is approximately 3.5 years. I just picked a number.

If anyone thinks Sasuke is a little OOC in this chapter, remember he's been back in Konoha for 18 months or so. That long around Naruto can change anyone. Also, he's not changed. Really he just opened up to Sakura a little. Everyone is deep, some people just can't express it.

As hinted in this chapter I'm thinking about maybe pairing Sasuke up with someone, possible Ino, as I think Sasuke's mindset and Ino's clan focus on the mind make them an interesting and quite compatible couple. But I'm still thinking, and very open to suggestions, even if it eventuates that it never happens. Drop me a review or a PM if you have input.

The next few chapters will be edited versions of the originals. Hopefully it won't take too long to bring them back into line with the new opening.

BV


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: So, who's surprised to hear from me so soon. I had hoped to get this up earlier, (gasp). My goal was to put up edited version of the chapters I wrote last time once a fortnight, and then drop back to a once a month schedule on the new work. Unfortunately, when I stated editing this chapter, It needed major additions before I was happy with it. The first 2000 words or so are brand new. Thus the extra week.

Also, something that I noticed in one review and want to mention. I originally started this story in a Naruto-centric manner. Focusing on him and what he's doing, and mostly leaving the world around him progress on its own. I'm going to try to depart from this and therefore the next chapter will be brand new stuff. The editable chapters will still come, just a little later, this means the target release date for the chapter will be in a month.

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><p><strong>Reviews: (As usual the reviewers comments are in parenthesis)<strong>

**Gold Testament:** (I didn't like the original version when Sakura had Sasuke's kids I basically drew the line there because then it would never be considered a NaruSaku fic. I do like one fic however that's NaruInoKarin.)

I also assume, since you are reviewing mine, that you like it? Mabey just a little? Either way thanks for reading, and thanks for reviewing.

**Showtime09: **(Yea sasuke with Ino is a good couple and love this story been waiting for an update can't wait for the next one.)

Well here's the next update. I reckon Sasuke and Ino go well, thus the suggestion that it might happen. Im not sure how well I go writing it though. This story will tend to be Naruto-centric, I think.

**Animaman:** (Nice, and as I said, in the other version, since Sakura has a few kids with Sasuke, why would Naruto want to take Sakura away for his own needs. Anyway, too bad you can't pair Sasuke with Karin in this fic, as for Naruto, is he working towards becoming the next Jiraiya, without the pervert part?)

Yeah, anyway, Um, I haven't really decided what happened to Karin and the rewst of hawk, or snake, 'TAKA' or whatever, I can't be bothered to look up the name, she could come around. Ill think about it, I do like Sasuke/Ino though. Naruto is sort of moving towards being Jiraiya, but without the connection to the leaf. As far as Naruto's thought go, he has left the leaf's safety to Sasuke. Or so he thinks, it's only been six months, he's buried the fact he misses it deep down, he had to to do what he's done. Well see how that manifests later.

**Narusaku189: **(This story is completely amazing! please update soon! cant wait!)

Glad you think so, here's an update,

**Adamxero – **(I seriously hope you don't just do the whole Sakura finds Naruto and immediately they get together...you should add a women in Naruto's life and have Sakura earn his affections once again like he had to earn hers.

It will be good for the story for Sakura to see Naruto dating another women as it shows Naruto isn't just the second place.)

Oh, there will be twists and turns. I seriously hope you enjoy what I have planned, I grin evilly at what I plan to put them through, even as I grin kindly at the idea of them eventually together.

**ArthurB – **(idk story looks too naive and childish, logic of sakura and sasuke flawed and they are pretty much deserve what they get. author trying to show what the are not really at fault but they actually are. i can pretty much predict bla bla naruto traveling for a while getting super strong bla bla sakura sasuke finds him sooner or later ( or he comes back himself when village being attacked) bla bla few chapters after that and naruto gets together with sakura ( seriously?) and sasuke is getting some too. bla bla happy ending. would be much better if naruto actually get together with some1 else or/and leaves konoha behind for good. at least it would be some serious drama not just random teenage crap.)

Oh, I certainly agree that Sakura and Sasuke are at fault for Naruto leaving, He left because of them, plain and simple, they got what they deserved. But this was never about blame.

Secondly, even if they reach a happy ending, its how they get there that matters. The journey, not the destination. Things won't just fall into place. And even after they get together, and they will, this is a narusaku fic after all, they don't necessarily live happily ever after.

**ArthurB (again) – **(lol never mind its been 2 years and story is 5k words in length and like 99% wont be finished ever.)

You are permitted to hold that opinion, I guess. I know I've done nothing to cause anyone to think otherwise. I have always intended to finish it, even if it ended up being a lifelong labour.

I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

**Akamatt – **(I like this story, can't wait for more.)

Don't wait, enjoy now!

**butterflyV – **(Nice to review something from a fellow aussie! I do remember reading this the first time, so I'm interested to see how this re-worked version will pan out, and I'm liking what I see so far.  
>Apologies if any of my reviews ever sounded harsh, I've always followed that aussie mentality of "calling a spade a spade". I try to stay consistent and give an opinion - not criticism - to all fanfics that I look at. Some will like the ideas I give, some won't, but still it shows that we care about the product that makes us fans of it in the first place.<br>Update soon.)

Thank you, nice to receive a review from a fellow Aussie. I always welcome balanced objective criticism. It's the only way I can learn to do better. All ideas are welcome, I just may not choose use them. Have an update.

**butterfly (again) – **(I'm personally more of a fan of the Sasuke/Hinata pairing, but if you choose to pair him with Ino, that's your choice.)

I will say I hadn't considered it. And I can see how it would work. My Sasuke, at this point, is only just starting to open up to people. I think he would probably respond to someone who can coax him out a bit at a time and understands what he's going through. But then, someone who is also quiet and introverted might also work. GRRRRR…..too much to think about. Thanks for the idea, even if its got me conflicted now. All ideas welcome. Enjoy.

**Guest – **(Nicely written. Kudos!)

Thanks!

**Guest – **(Hoping to read more :) )

So am I.

**The –** (First chapter is not bad, but u spelled madara wrong and akatsuki wrong multiple times, might want to fix that.)

Thanks, someone else told me about that too, I thought I had fixed it. Ill do so tonight. I always appreciate help in spotting errors.

**The reviewer –** (the problem was not what the pairing was in your previous writing, the problem was how much time you took to get on the main plot and how frequently you updated the story. if i remember correctly, you took almost a year to reach that spot where you left the previous version. the problem was readers got frustated due to your slow update, before they knew where the story was heading. also lack of any development for sakura's part added to fuel. if you had atleast gave a glimpse how the life was going in konoha then such outrage would have occurred here among the readers atleast.

anyway, best of luck in this story though, and why dont you carry the previous version side by side of this story, but with only naruto filter.)

Ok, I can certainly understand the point you are trying to make. And yes, if I had managed to get into the main story faster it would have helped. I had plans to deal with the fact I put them together but it never eventuated, which means the plans were as good as nonexistant.

As for publishing both stories, well, that would be a headache at the moment. Sure I still have copies of my original chapters, but those very plans to deal with the initial relationship mean that the two 'worlds' I have created diverge significantly. I struggle to update properly as it is, though I'm addressing that. I don't want to attempt to write two stories at once.

**The – **(This chapter was much better, I thin sasuino works and if u have to change your mind then sasukarin (since she is an uzumaki) or sasuhina make good back ups.

Look forward to the next update)

Thanks, someone else suggested Sasuhina, and I have to say it intrigues me, well have to see how we go. All these reviews have inspired me to go from a Naruto-centric style, to looking at things in different places through different eyes, someone wanna tell me what that's called? I don't know, multi-centric? That works, anyway. Ill decide in the next few days and probably, though I always reserve the right to change my mind, reveal something in the next chapter, which will now be all new, YAY!

**BlackPhantom94 – **(-_- It felt more like a summary or prologue than a first chapter, you need more development.)

I understand what you mean. In my defence I had set start and end points to work with, but I am going to try to work on it. I would appreciate further feedback on this.

**Ampcje (From a PM) – **(great story just hope the third chapter comes out sooner than the second on did)

Yeah, the delay on chapter two is embressing. Looking at aiming for a monthly release schedule from now on. Enjoy chapter three.

* * *

><p><strong>Rise of the Fox Sage<strong>

**By Ben Vilhaven**

**Chapter 3: Temple of the Great Sage**

_Land of Rice Patties_

_Six Months after Naruto's Departure _

It had been approximately six months since Naruto had left the leaf village. Six months of living off the land. Six months of hunting, fishing, and using his trapping knowledge, to survive. Six months of hiding from the Leaf, his new lifelong pursuit, if he had his way.

When trying to hide, anonymity is key, he knew that much. He dyed his hair brown, and started wearing a fox mask, much like the ANBU. He changed his wardrobe too. Gone were the flashy oranges, his trademark style, as he liked to think of it. They were replaced by black pants, with a blood red stripe down the right side, a dark blue top, metal guards on his forearms, and the occasional use of a heavy dark blue cloak, completed his new ensemble. He even changed his name, he was now simply 'The Fox'.

In the end, his desire to avoid Leaf Nin had led him out of the land of fire, into the smaller bordering nations. These nations were too small to have their own major ninja village, which provided Naruto with the opportunity to pick up the odd job as a mercenary.

He started small, manual labour, guard duty, basic D and C rank stuff mostly. There wasn't much demand for a mercenary in the small towns he liked to frequent. He took anything he could get.

This all changed one night, in a small backwater hamlet in the Land of Rice Patties.

* * *

><p><em>Land of Rice Patties – Rural Village<em>

The town was small, one main street with a town hall at one end. A couple of small food shops and a general store were the only other major buildings in the town, if you didn't count the large warehouse used for storage of the rice that was the town's main comodity. Houses made up the rest of Main Street and a few smaller residences dotted the countryside either side of the road.

Naruto's arrival, as it usually did, went unnoticed. He would don his mask when working, but for small villages like this one, with basically no ninja presence, the freedom provided by a simple Henge was preferable to the mask. The mask tended to draw far more attention than a simple extra face around town.

It was late afternoon when he arrived. He wandered through the town's main street, looking for food and a place to sleep. He found food at a small roadside stand, but the town was too small to even have an inn. This didn't bother Naruto too badly, he decided to just camp outside of town in the woods.

Naruto set up his camp in a small clearing on a small rise a few kilometers out of town. He settled in for the night, having set up his usual traps, and went to sleep.

* * *

><p>SNAP, THUD!<p>

Naruto woke with a start. Something had set one of his traps off, something large by the sound of it. He was up into the trees in moments. He stealthily moved towards the source of the sound. He came upon a group of four rough looking men. One was holding his face, his nose apparently broken. He must have been the one to set off the trap.

Another, the leader of the small band, was examining Naruto's handiwork.

"A ninja, boys. Spread out, we can't have him interfering with the assault on the town," said the leader. His men grudgingly complied.

'Bandits, the town is in danger,' thought Naruto.

He weaved handsigns, "Summoning Jutsu: Five Foxes" he intoned quietly.

Four shadow clones morphed into existence.

"Four bandits, Engage and Detain," Naruto silently signaled his clones and they moved off. Naruto dropped to a meditative position, he needed sage mode. If he was going to protect the village he needed to know just where the threat was.

* * *

><p><em>20 Minutes Later<em>

The bandits that had come across Naruto's camp had been quietly dealt with, and the five copies of Naruto quietly entered the village. The four copies without sage mode stayed at the edge of town, amongst the few houses that bordered the main street, hiding in shadows on rooftops and in trees. Naruto himself slipped onto the roof of the tallest structure in town, the town hall. He could feel the enemy coming towards the town. He put on his mask and meditated to replenish his nature energy for the fight, while he waited for the ideal moment to strike.

The bandits went from house to house, rounding up everyone. Resistance was nonexistent. The villagers knew that noncompliance was death. This was not the first raid on their village by this group, and many believed it would not be the last.

As the bandits rounded everyone up into the main street, Naruto's clones closed their net also. They shadowed the bandits into the street, taking up positions on rooftops. They donned their masks and hoods. The Five Foxes were assembled.

The villagers were grouped together in the main street. There couldn't be more than three hundred of them. Bandits stood guard over them while others raided the local storehouse or the town hall. The bandit Leader lounged on the deck of the hall.

The town's leader stepped forward to try to reason with his enemy.

"Mitoko-sama, welcome to our village. May I ask what brings you to our humble home, sir?" the village head stammered out.

"Spoils," was the reply. "My men hunger for food, and companionship, we will be taking what we want. You will do nothing, or she dies, do you understand?" replied Mitoko, obviously the bandit leader.

"Or who dies, Mitoko-sama?" asked the leader.

That was when the shrieking started.

"Father, get off me, father, FATHER, HELP!" The girl was no older than 12, nothing but a child.

The head man's face fell. The bandit's had known right where to hit them, it was over. Harvest had just come in, they were reliant on that to feed them for the next year and replant the fields, if they took it now… But his daughter, his pride and joy. He felt hope die. The headman felt ashamed. It had been on his watch the village had died.

Then kunai rained from the sky.

* * *

><p>The few bandits that had been guarding the villagers dropped like stones. A masked ninja appeared at the other end of the street.<p>

"This way, HURRY!" he shouted.

Yet another nin engaged the bandit who had the headman's daughter hostage, the bandit went down, a fist to the face and a kunai in his gut. Grabbing the girl the ninja disappeared, only to reappear with his comrade at the other end of the village.

Yet another grabbed the head man himself and whisked him to his daughter.

A fourth cut down the remaining pursuit, what few bandits had been able to react to the escape, or miraculously survived the initial surprise attack, were cut down without mercy.

"TO ME, TO ME, MY MEN, ESCAPE!" shouted Mikoto.

It had been 30 seconds since the fight started. Bandits swarmed at one end of town surrounding their leader. The villagers, every man, woman, and child, had disappeared into the night.

* * *

><p>The villagers ran into the night. One of the nin led the way, his hand held high, glowing bright enough to show the way forward. Two others acted as rear guard and one ran with the headman, carrying his daughter. It was this one who spoke first.<p>

"Your village will be fine, they will not bother you again after this night," he said.

The headman could feel the ninja's carefully controlled rage at the bandits, but beneath it, this voice held a deep reservoir of strength and commitment.

"I am sorry to disagree, ninja-san, but now that we are gone, they will simply ransack the village and then burn it," said the headman.

The ninja smiled, "I'll tell you a secret. I am just a clone, my creator is ten times stronger than I am, and he remains in your village. No bandit within your village will survive the night. Their actions towards your daughter sealed their fate. There is nothing he hates more than abuse of the innocent and defenseless."

"Who are you," asked a small kind voice.

"We, my dear, are The Five Foxes," said the ninja to the girl he carried. "You are safe now, your Father is here, rest." With those words, a warm green glow surrounded the girl for a moment, and she fell unconscious.

"Do not worry, I sent merely sent her to sleep," said the nin to the girl's worried father.

* * *

><p>Mikoto was livid, his men had been killed and the villagers had escaped. He would have his revenge, he would hunt those ninja down, and kill them like dogs. He would burn this village to the ground. Those villagers would suffer for this.<p>

His raging was cut short when a lone figure appeared from nowhere in the middle of the main street. A dark cloak swirled around him and the golden design of a fox's face adorned the mask on his face.

"YOU...GET HIM!" roared Mikoto.

The ninja moved, and time seemed to stand still. One second he was in the middle of the street, the next he was before Mikoto, a kunai at his throat.

"I want you to know something, Mikoto," the ninja said, spitting the name out like the trash it was. "I am your end. You and your bandits end, here and now."

Mikoto felt sudden pain blossom, he looked down to see the handles of two kunai protruding at odd angles from his chest. He collapsed before the ninja, who turned and faced the remaining bandits. A cold fire burned in his eyes.

The bandits stood there in shock. Their leader was dead, their meal ticket gone, their hostages gone. Rage consumed them as they charged the lone ninja.

Sage mode was too much for them, every kick and punch thrown was telegraphed to the ninja. The bandits didn't lay a finger on him, as he cut a path through their ranks. Reaching the street the ninja turned, making a cross shaped seal with his hands. He was glad the only ones to witness this move were dead men.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu," he cried.

He was replicated a hundred fold. The bandits end came quickly, their only advantage, their numbers, being overwhelmingly removed.

Naruto calmed down after that. He knew that he may have gone a little too far, but he also knew that if even one bandit escaped, retribution against this village would be swift and violent. He knew that if that was the end result of his actions it would have been better to leave the bandits alone, but he couldn't even imagine what the bandits might have done to the population. They were monsters who would take a young girl hostage.

Naruto crossed his fingers again, creating more clones and started cleaning up. The bodies were carted out of town and buried with a simple earth jutsu. The four bandits he had captured earlier were dealt with and buried with their comrades. A few hours later all that remained were the bloodstains. There was little Naruto could do to them in the short time he had, so he sent word to the four clones escorting the villagers to return.

* * *

><p><em>Two Days Later<em>

"Must you really leave, Fox-san," asked the headman's daughter as he said his goodbye's.

"Yes, Amaya, if I stay I will only bring danger to you, and your home. I need to go," said Naruto, his fox mask firmly in place. He wanted to stay, but he had enemies. Who knew if Akatsuki was still after him? And Akatsuki weren't the only ninja with a grudge against Naruto Uzumaki.

So it was with a heavy heart that Naruto left behind a second would-be family for their good. He picked a direction and walked, not sure where he was going. He just walked, mulling everything over in his mind, and hoping his new friends would be ok.

It was certainly a surprise when he ran into another traveler, deep within untamed forest.

* * *

><p>"Hello, my friend," said the stranger. "Forgive me for being forward, but may I ask where you are going? What destination brings you to such a place as this?"<p>

Naruto, taken aback at such bluntness, answered honestly before he even thought about it.

"Nowhere, I'm just walking," he said.

"Good, then you must be the one I am seeking. My name is Hotaka, and I am the chief priest of the Temple of the Great Sage, in the Land of Wind. I am on a pilgrimage to retrieve some sacred fire from the Land of Storms. This journey is difficult, and I was told in a dream that I could not do it alone. I was told to wait here for a man without a destination, and he would help me. We would end up travelling the road of life together. Will you travel with me, ninja-san? I would pay you for your trouble."

Naruto agreed. He had nothing better to do. Sure, it was weird, and so he would be wary, but a mission is a mission.

* * *

><p>The two men traveled the winding mountain paths of the Land of Storms. Both of them had almost slipped to their deaths more than once. Reliance on each other to survive slowly built a bond of trust between the two.<p>

Eventually they reached a small cave where a flame burned. Hotaka produced a golden scroll and sealed some of the fire. Naruto was shocked at the use of chakra and seals.

"Before I was a priest, Fox-san, I was a ninja. I gave it up to be a priest and answer my true calling, but my old skills still sometimes come in handy," Hotaka explained.

After the two wound back down the treacherous mountain paths, they proceeded towards the temple. The rest of the trip went uneventfully, and Naruto considered paying Garra a trip, covertly, once he was done with this mission. His destination was in the Land of Wind after all.

Those plans changed, rather swiftly, once they got to the temple itself. When Naruto went to collect his fee, he had the rug pulled out from under him.

* * *

><p>"So what name do you prefer these days, Naruto Uzumaki or Naruto Namikaze, perhaps both?" asked Hotaka.<p>

Naruto was stunned, rooted to the spot. How did Hotaka know his real identity? He hadn't revealed it to anyone since leaving the village. Even his old teammates didn't know of his links to the fourth Hokage and the Namikaze clan. It should be impossible for this priest to know who he was, let alone his true name. Even if he had somehow seen under his mask, his face wasn't that recognizable, was it?

"How? How do you know my name?" asked a stunned Naruto.

"I told you I had a vision, I am sorry I concealed part of it, but I was afraid if you knew all of it at that time you wouldn't help me. I saw wheels turning, things beginning to move, and I knew it referred to the great prophecy and to you, the child of prophecy. You see, Uzumaki Naruto, the toads are not the only ones to foresee your coming. You are important to the entire world. You were destined to come here." Hotaka smiled cryptically as he explained this.

"Huh?" It was all Naruto could muster. How could this man know who he was through a vision? It just didn't make sense to Naruto. Sure the toads and Jiraiya had called him 'The Child of Prophecy' but Naruto had figured it was a toad thing. Little did he know just how wrong he was.

"Well then," continued Hotaka, unfazed by Naruto's shock. "We need to get you settled in. Your training starts tomorrow, after all. Come, I will show you to your room. Now if you will follow me?"

"Now hang on just a minute!" cried Naruto, snapping back to reality. "Who said I would be sticking around? I have places to go, people to see. I can't just drop everything to train with you."

"And why not?" retorted Hotaka. "You have no village that you call your own, no place to protect. If you don't stop now, and train here with us, you will never unlock your full power. If you don't train now, when it does come time to protect that which you hold dear, you will fail. Such is the nature of your destiny."

"Destiny? You keep going on about destiny like I should know what mine is! What if you have the wrong guy? How do you know it is me? What makes me so special?" Naruto wanted answers, understandably. These priests had seemingly planned out his future. What gave them that right? Naruto wanted to know.

"You want to know how we know it is you," Hotaka answered. "Very well, come, I will show you the great prophecy, then you will understand. You will understand what you must do to bring peace. You will realize that you need our help. It is what this temple is here for in the first place."

* * *

><p>The high priest led Naruto to the temple's main chamber. There he manipulated a hidden panel on the temple's east wall and a passage opened with stairs leading down into the dark. Hotaka and Naruto descended into the depths of the earth. As they went Hotaka explained. "Do you know why this temple is called the 'Temple of the Great Sage'? Why my forebears named it such? Many think it refers to the Sage of 6 Paths, but they would be wrong. When this place was named they looked to the future, not the past. They looked to you, Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, Toad Sage, soon to be Fox Sage. Come and see your destiny!"<p>

As the priest finished speaking they came to the end of the passageway. It opened into a large cavernous chamber, lit by the soft flickering light of torches. One wall stood out, a great mosaic of tile. "Go and see, that is what every priest of this temple has seen, in one form or another, since this temple was founded a hundred years ago. It is the Prophecy of the Great Sage, the Fox Sage. It is your destiny."

The mosaic was divided by large diagonal slashes, like a giant X, into four parts. The top section had in gold the symbol for 'Mind' inscribed upon a background of a cloudless sky. The bottom section was 'Body' inscribed in marble upon an immovable mountain of stone. But it was the two side panels that caught Naruto's attention, that left him in no doubt that what the priest had said was true. They had been waiting for him.

On the right panel was the symbol for 'Toad' inscribed on a swamp, and the left had the symbol 'Fox' emblazoned on flame.

Toads and foxes, it was too much to simply be coincidence. Naruto continued looking at the mosaic and finally noticed the writing that ran along the top and bottom of the mosaic.

"He shall grow in mind, body and will. He shall turn his curse to blessing, his pain to power. In so doing, he shall find peace for all, and pull a world back from the brink of despair!"

"Ok," said Naruto slowly. "So it's about me. I've never been one for all this mumbo-jumbo though. What does it all mean?"

Hotaka responded with passion and belief.

"It means, stay and train with us. Grow in mind, body and will. Become what you were born to be. This mosaic is more than just a prophecy! It is a set of instructions. Grow in Mind! Grow in Body! Grow in Will! Once you have done those three, you will be able to harness all your power! Just as a sage mixes nature energy with his mind and body chakra, you will add to those three your curse. The Kyuubi resides in you. As such you have access to four chakras, not just three. That is the mosaic, don't you see, all four in balance! You will surpass what it means to be a sage!"

Naruto was stunned, fearful, confused, happy. His emotions were a swirl of chaos. One emotion grew to overpower the others though, fear. Fear of what the Kyuubi could do if Naruto drew him out.

Almost like he could read Naruto's thoughts, Hotaka placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and reassured him. "You worry about the Kyuubi, don't you? Do not fear for we will tame him. We will strengthen you to the point where you control him, not the other way around. Come, it is time for the evening meal. We will have to get you settled in after we eat. There will be time then for your questions, think on things and decide what you will ask."

With this Hotaka moved off. Naruto followed reluctantly, not sure of quite what to do yet. He had much to think about, and still many questions for the wise old man who was the leader here.

* * *

><p>Dinner was a simple affair. It was at a temple after all. There he finally got to meet the other priests who lived at the temple. Apparently he was a bit of a celebrity as far as they were concerned. To the outside world this was just a temple like any other, but to these priests, the temple was special. Its main purpose was and would always be Naruto. They had all surrendered to their destiny, the vision of Naruto the Fox Sage, and come here to await his arrival.<p>

The more time Naruto spent with the priests, the more he came around to their point of view. By the end of dinner he had reached the point of having only one question left for Hotaka.

After dinner Hotaka led Naruto to a small outbuilding in the temple complex. It had a bed, and a small bathroom with running water. There was no need for anything else as the priests all ate together, and typically worked from sunrise to sunset.

Before retiring for the night, Naruto asked Hotaka his one question.

"I want to know how. You say you will train my mind, body and will. You say I will be able to control Kyuubi. How?"

The elderly priest smiled. "Is that all you wish to know? The mind, body and will can all be trained. They can be strengthened through learning, exercise and trial. Learn to improve your mind. Exercise to strengthen your body. Try your will, and make it stronger. These three disciplines will become clear in time, but most importantly, think on this. You can contain the Kyuubi with your chakra, so why can't you control it? We can teach you to do that, how to control Kyuubi."

With that the head priest nodded with finality before returning to the main complex and his own bed.

Naruto's sleep that night would be broken by dreams. He had a lot on his mind, but one thing kept coming to him. His father had believed he could control the Kyuubi, and now these priests said they knew how to do it. How could he turn away from this if he could use this power to protect the ones he cared about?

To Be Continued

* * *

><p>Author's note: Ok, Next chapter done. Like I said, hopefully brand new stuff next chapter, meaning give me a month. Ill always update sooner if I can though.<p>

Till Next Time

BV


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** So I got around to finishing this. And it's late, so what's new… :(

Again, as usual, I am sorry that this was late, and I'm not going to try to make excuses.

This chapter is set in Konoha, as many of you want to see Sakura and Sasuke. This marks a major deviation from my original plan, which was to make this fic entirely Naruto centric.

I am excited to try this out, but it something I've never done before, so let me know how I did, and go easy on me.

Anyway, here's the next chapter.

* * *

><p><strong>Reviews: (As usual the reviewer's comments are in parenthesis)<strong>

Need to make something clear about this section. I will not feed trolls. If I skip your review, this is why. If you feel I have made an error in my assessment PM me and we can discuss. I will always welcome genuine criticism, no matter how negative, but pure flame, or an attempt to troll will simply be ignored.

That is all.

BV

* * *

><p><strong>Animaman –<strong> (Nice, although hopefully you would include what is going on in Konoha, at least show some character with Sakura remembering her past with Team Kakashi.)

As requested we are back in Konoha this chapter, and probably the next. We get to see just how Sakura and Sasuke are coping without Naruto around. Didn't really get to the history much, as this is more character development than anything else. Though Sakura is a bit moody at the start, you'll see.

**EroSlackerMicha – (**good to see it. Naruto's gonna be hard to catch up with. And he's not so low profile if he keeps spamming Shadow Clones. keep it up)

Yes, Naruto's going to be hard to catch, and he will probably be a tier above MOST of his enemies MOST of the time. That isn't to say he goes straight to full power, there is still a lot of room for him to grow, I just hope I can live up to the awesomeness I create.

That all being said, his allies, especially Sakura, Sasuke, and now Ino, are not going to be slackers either.

**McGeezel – (**Thanks for the update. Not sure about the prophecy yet but the 4chakras sound awesome.)

You are welcome to have the update, have another.

The prophecy, hmmmm, not much I want to say about that at the moment, as for the four chakras, I was sure that was where we were going once nature chakra was introduced. Apparently it isn't, but then I watch the anime, I don't read the manga, spoilers, so it may still happen, who knows.

**KCWolfman – (**I couldn't log-in because I had left a review on the previous version of this story, but I thought this was a very good and original chapter you put together. It was interesting and full of action and written well. My only complaint is I would have liked to have seen a little bit of what life was like back in Konoha with Naruto gone with the other characters. I would think that many people would blame Sasuke and especially Sakura for him being gone. It would be cool to see how much flack those two are receiving from people because of it. One suggestion if you don't want to kill your story with a lot of readers and that's stick with the Sasu/Ino pairing. If you go the route of Sasu/Hina you will hack off a great many fans of Hinata who while many of them prefer Naruto be paired with Hinata can live with her being paired with someone else except Sasuke. Good luck with the next chapter.)

Thank you for the compliment, and yes we are back in Konoha. As for the people blaming Sasuke, Naruto's departure, at the moment, is a village secret. He is on an extended solo mission as far as anyone is concerned. This was to prevent a war, it's all in there somewhere I'm sure, anyway, long story short, no flack atm, it may come later, we'll see.

Also this chapter clears up the pairing, no spoilers here…

**Exxcaliburr – (**LOVING EVERY SINGLE BIT SO FAR! will this be a really long fanfic? or those short ones that go up to like 50k words? this has the potential to go up to the 100k mark easy)

Ahh, a question about length, good.

Version one ran to about 8 chapters, each was at least 2000 words, so 16k words, I actually thing it was closer to 20, but I'm not certain. Anyway, that version consisted of perhaps two of the 20 points of my story outline. We hadn't even seen the main villain. I was still setting the scene.

This story is, as of this chapter, an expanded version of that story. This chapter, 4k words, never existed, nor did the next one. This story is going to be long, just how long scares me sometimes, cos I am going to have to write it. Enjoy!

**Azfaerydust – (**I'm loving this story and I hope you continue it. How old is Naruto?)

Thanks.

The story starts about 5 years after Sasuke's departure from the leaf, and 18 months after the Pein attack, with Naruto's departure. I will always tend to refer, at least for now, to either departure date or wedding date, they were only a month apart, so it's much the same, just context, but Naruto was about 18 at that time. This chapter is 6 months later, so 18½ or so.

**Sortofbored – (**Awesome! Keep it up.)

Will keep it up.

As long as I have even 1 reader I will keep working on this thing, the crazy ride that it can be at times.

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><p><strong>Rise of the Fox Sage<strong>

**By Ben Vilhaven**

**Chapter Four: Keeping the Faith**

_Konoha – Hokage Monument_

_4:00 pm, Six Months after Naruto's Departure_

Sakura stood and stretched, her muscles had knotted from just sitting and staring down at the village, a village that kept on living day to day. Sometimes Sakura didn't know how they did it, and sometimes Sakura almost forgot herself what had happened. Every time she came up here though, to Naruto's favorite place, she would be hit with it all full force again.

She didn't come here often, it wasn't exactly a pleasant feeling, knowing Naruto was out there somewhere, and she couldn't do anything about it. The only thing it did was make her want to get stronger. That was why she kept coming back, if just living without him wasn't always enough to motivate her, this place was always here. No matter how she felt, she would always press forward as long as this place existed.

* * *

><p>"Sakura, here you are, Sasuke said you might be here…"<p>

Sakura turned to the familiar voice.

"Hey, Ino," said Sakura, greeting her friend, before turning back to the sight of the village.

Ino said nothing, and walked over to stand next to her pink haired friend.

"It's a beautiful view, isn't it," Ino said, after a little while. "I can understand why Naruto enjoyed it so much up here, away from everyone, but still just close enough."

"Yeah," was all she got for a response.

"You miss him, I mean, of course you do, and you called off your wedding and everything…"

Sakura just looked at her, waiting for her best friend to continue.

"I mean, Ahhhhh, why is this so hard, why'd they make me do this. Sakura, some of your friends are concerned, you push yourself so hard, every day, sun-up to sunset, if you're not working or on a mission you're training. Sakura…"

"I want to be ready, Ino. If this is what it takes, so be it. Whether he returns on his own or I have to go drag him back here myself, he will return, and when he does, I will be ready to stand by his side."

"But…"

"Ino, I appreciate your concern, and the others too, but would he do any different in my shoes."

"Sakura, you are not Naruto! You can't…"

"Ino, why do you think I want to stand by his side? I am not Naruto, I cannot carry his burden, I know this, but I will not let him carry that burden alone. For years he was there for me, whether I was able to see it or not. I will be there for him, and right now, all that I can do for him, is to get ready. Don't worry Ino, I know my own limits."

"Sakura…" was all Ino could manage. She couldn't dispute anything she had just heard.

Then she had an idea, and the absurdity of it just made her desire to do it all the stronger. She turned to her friend.

"Let me join you," she demanded.

Sakura was taken aback for a moment, then a sly grin began to slowly spread across her face. Cold shivers started to run up and down Ino's spine at that look.

"I won't go easy on you, nor will I let you slow me down. Can you keep up with me? Do you have the motivation to train day in and day out? Do you, Ino?"

"If it means I will be there when you finally crack, then yes. And if you never crack, if you truly are the superhuman you seem to think you are, then I will get to stand alongside the three of you as we change the world."

Sakura's grin intensified, as Sasuke arrived.

"You sent your girlfriend to do your dirty work Sasuke?" asked the slyly grinning kunoichi.

"Whatever, if the three of us are training, shouldn't we begin?' responded Sasuke.

"Right then, be sure to keep up," said Sakura, as she vaulted forward off the Fourth Hokage's head, an earth jutsu already being cast for the landing.

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><p><em>Earlier that Day<em>

Sasuke had finally finished for the day. He had been assigned to help rebuild the village, as part of his probation, but since they were down to putting the finishing touches on the last of the buildings the foreman had taken to letting Sasuke go early.

"Ninja are good for heavy lifting, but when it comes to the nuance of construction, frankly, you stink…go home," had been the foreman's words.

Sasuke didn't mind, much. Getting off early wasn't a bad thing.

Initially he bristled at the menial work of helping rebuild, until Naruto pointed out that it had been his pride that had landed him in this situation to begin with. So he sucked it up and worked. He even found it enjoyable at times, though he also enjoyed what time off he got. He needed the time to keep training, so he could at least keep his ninja skills from decaying.

So it was that Sasuke found himself walking towards the training grounds when he was waylaid by Ino, and dragged off to who knew where.

* * *

><p>Sasuke didn't quite know how he felt about Ino. Sakura had made it clear that she felt Sasuke and Ino should be a couple. She had made it clear in no uncertain terms.<p>

As for Sasuke, he certainly didn't mind Ino. She didn't try to pry, though she would always listen to him. It had been weird, how their friendship, Sasuke thought that was what it was, had slowly developed.

It had been just after the wedding, Sakura and Sasuke had continued just being friends, talking, training together, they were still a team, even after all the wedding stuff had blown over.

That was when Sakura had started introducing others into their circle of two. Sakura reckoned Sasuke needed more friends. It wasn't healthy having only one, especially given their occupation, so she brought her other friends along when they did stuff, hoping he would strike up friendships with them as well.

It had been Ino though, out of all of Sakura's friends, that had hit it off with Sasuke. Unlike the others, she didn't pry into Sasuke's time away from the village, and that was what Sasuke enjoyed about her company, he supposed, peace and quiet. And through Ino, Sasuke had found a window back into the world of ninja he had left when he left the village behind.

That was why Sasuke didn't mind Ino, and that was how he found himself dragged to a meeting of Team 10 plus Tenten.

* * *

><p>"Ino, finally, you found him," said Tenten, as Ino led Sasuke to the table the other ninja were sitting around. They had decided to meet at Choji's favorite BBQ restaurant.<p>

Sasuke had barely sat down when Tenten began bombarding him with questions about Sakura. Apparently the weapons mistress had come upon her passed out in the field several times over the previous month and had grown concerned. She had dragged Ino into it, thus Team 10 was involved, and the four of them had grabbed Sasuke, hoping to involve him too.

After all, no one in the village was closer to Sakura than the Uchiha.

"Look, Sakura and I train daily," explained the Uchiha. "Often I am called away to help with the reconstruction, but it certainly isn't uncharacteristic for either one or the other of us to train ourselves into the ground on a daily basis. The other helps the first home and we both rest for the next day. Rebuilding has just been hectic recently, so I haven't been around to help her home. We've been doing this since just after the wedding."

Sasuke's explanation left Tenten speechless.

"Troublesome," was all Shikamaru said.

It was enough to get Choji to stop eating.

Ino was the first to respond.

"And you don't see a problem with that?" she asked incredulously.

"If your concerned, Ino, talk to her about it. This time of day, she's either at training ground 7 working on Taijutsu, which was where I was headed when you grabbed me, or she will be atop the Fourth Hokage's head. She goes there when she's feeling out of it, it motivates her. You can all understand why," said the Uchiha.

And so, Sasuke found himself and Sakura atop the Hokage monument, with a new training partner.

* * *

><p><em>Two Weeks Later<em>

Ino was exhausted, and it was only early afternoon. She was doing her utmost to keep up with Sasuke and Sakura, but their training regime was insane. It had only been two weeks for Ino, but already she could feel the differences beginning to show.

Every morning they would run laps of the village for an hour, as a warm-up, then came strength training and taijutsu. Once those finished it was usually about 10 am, and Ino had to go to work at the hospital, which was her saving grace. It was her days off from the hospital that she dreaded now.

While she was at the hospital, Sakura and Sasuke would practice kenjutsu, as long as Sasuke didn't have work too. Ino was curious as to why her friend would want to learn the sword given her strength and evasion. One evening a few days earlier, when she had a day off, she finally asked her pink haired friend about it.

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

"What, Ino?" responded Sakura, she really had been focused on reading about a new Earth Jutsu, and had missed the question entirely.

"Why learn to use a sword? You're a medic, aren't you, and you have Tsunade-sama's strength, why learn to use a blade?"

"Reach, Ino. It's all well and good to be strong, but if I can't reach an enemy, if I can't touch him, what good is it. Couple my strength and control with a good blade, and I have a truly scary weapon. It's my ace in the hole, if you will. Never show all your cards, Ino."

* * *

><p>On the days she didn't have work, Ino would train the afternoon away, just like her two training partners. Ino didn't want to use a sword like Sakura, and so she would work on her clan jutsu alone or with her father when he was free. She was becoming quite proficient at even the harder of her clan's secret techniques.<p>

The afternoon and evening would be jutsu, whether practice or theory, refining the old or learning the new, they worked on what they needed most. At least they would until one of them, usually Ino, collapsed.

* * *

><p>This particular day was different though, Sakura had been called away by the Hokage, and it was half an hour before she returned, backpack in hand.<p>

"Mission?" asked Sasuke.

"Escort some medic-nin trainees, teach them about medicinal herbs and collect some for the village stores, we are running low, apparently there was a fire or something. Anyway, I'll be gone for a five days, maybe a week," explained the pink-haired kunoichi.

Ino was relieved, a few days off.

"Don't slack off, Ino," said Sakura, with that scary smile of hers fixed on her face, before she disappeared in a Shunshin.

* * *

><p>It was two days before they found the body…<p>

He was a chunin, responsible for the administration of certain C-rank missions.

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><p><em>Tsunade's Office<em>

There was a knock on the door.

"Enter," called the village leader, grateful for the distraction from the paperwork that seemed to swamp her desk every morning.

An ANBU entered and kneeled before his leader. This was the last thing Tsunade expected, and she was suddenly, and inexplicably, very worried.

"Bear, report," demanded the Hokage.

"A chunin of the hidden leaf, one Naoki Karamura, has been found dead, an apparent suicide. He left this note, which we believe to be authentic upon a cursory examination of the handwriting. Given his position in the village, and the contents, I felt it prudent to bring this to your attention immediately. Naoki-san was a member of the mission assignment team," explained the masked man.

Tsunade took the note that her ninja produced and began reading, her sense of dread growing the whole time.

* * *

><p><em>Suicide Note<em>

I cannot go on.

They kidnapped my family, told me I had to do what they said if I wanted them back.

They said to send them someone important, like a clan head, they didn't care who, they just wanted someone.

I'm sorry!

I set the fire in the medical stores.

I sent that Haruno girl out, the Hokage's apprentice.

I told them where they would be.

I sent her to her death.

I can't go on.

I'm sorry!

* * *

><p><em>Hokage's Office<em>

Tsunade hoped that this letter was a fake. That something else was going on. Part of her even hoped it was an elaborate plot to get away with a murder, but Tsunade knew in her gut that it wasn't so. She knew if there was any hope she had to act now.

Bear, ready your team, and bring me all relevant information regarding the mission Sakura Haruno has been dispatched on, immediately.

With a nod, bear disappeared to do as he was commanded. He knew every second counted, particularly to the Hokage.

* * *

><p><em>Same Time<em>

_30 Kilometers Northwest of Konoha_

Sakura had had enough, the three 'medic-nin' she had been assigned to train were, as far as she was concerned, little more than petty brats. Over the past two days they had hardly stopped arguing, and twice the three had come to physical blows. The second time they had learnt their lesson about fighting. Sakura had put the nearest one to her through a tree, and then healed him, just to show she could.

She was glad that they were about to reach their destination, at least then she could show them what herbs to collect and send them away to find some.

The forest slowly thinned out to grassland, as the ninja moved ever closer to the open plains where the particular herbs they were after, a small blue flower that was helpful in chakra recovery, grew. Sakura was hopeful to be able to set up a camp soon, and get these three monsters in her care doing something useful.

* * *

><p><em>Three Hours Later<em>

_With Sakura_

Finally, finally they had found a place to set up camp. Sakura had decided to let the younger ninja decide, hoping the joint responsibility might produce some semblance of teamwork.

Unfortunately, the three medic ninja Sakura had been given didn't seem to know the first thing about setting up a ninja campsite.

The first site they had chosen was in a depression. Sure, it would hide a fire, but if there was a flash rain storm, common in the open grasslands this time of year, they would be flooded out.

The second had been near a nest of snakes, which had made their displeasure at being disturbed clearly evident.

Finally, on their third attempt, with far too much guidance from Sakura for her tastes, they decided to camp on a large rock that sat in the middle of the large open fields of grass that surrounded them.

By this point Sakura had had enough, she used a simple fire jutsu to get a campfire going and started cooking some of the rations she had packed. The three other ninja she had been tasked with teaching sat around the fire.

It was then that things turned from bad to worse.

* * *

><p>Kouske was glad to finally rest his feet. Sure he didn't like Amaru and Shimimura, but he certainly was glad to be able to leave the village as a ninja, with Sakura Haruno no less.<p>

When that Chunin had offered him the chance at the remedial lessons, he had lept at it. He couldn't help but be thankful that a ninja of Sakura-sensei's caliber had stopped to help him and his two classmates, and he was going to tell her as much, even if the chunin had said not to mention it.

"Um, Sakura Sensei," started an intimidated Kouske.

"What is it now, Kouske?" responded Sakura, tired and fed up.

"Um, I just wanted to say thank you. When I failed the academy exams for the fourth time, I thought that was it for me as a ninja, but then you came along and took us three under your wing, and though we don't always get along, I just wanted you to know that I will do my best, whatever it takes to be a ninja."

"What? The three of you aren't even ninja?"

* * *

><p>Sakura was suddenly on the defensive. What was going on here? Who were these people and why were they here? The mission information clearly stated that these were three high level Genin, Medic-nin trainees.<p>

Kouske and his two classmates, Amaru and Shimimura, were stunned. Sakura-sensei was suddenly very tense, looking everywhere, like she was expecting an attack at any moment.

"This mission is scrubbed, we are returning to the village immediately, pack your things," demanded Sakura.

"What? Why?" demanded the three remedial students, for the first time their goals aligned. Their hopes slipping away, was Sakura Haruno really not interested in their wellbeing after all?

"Ninja follow orders! I'll explain on the way back, but right now we need to move!"

The three students scrambled to gather their belongings, packing camp in record time. An angry Sakura Haruno did wonders for their teamwork.

* * *

><p><em>Same Time<em>

_Leaf Village_

Bear was growing more disturbed the deeper he looked into this 'mission' the Hokage's apprentice had been sent on. Apparently, after conferring with one Ino Yamanaka, the Village medic nin responsible for new applicants to the Medic training course, the medic-nin that Sakura Haruno had departed with did not exist.

What he did find, however, was that there were records of three individuals who had, after repeatedly failed to pass the Genin exams, and the remedial practical classes, been removed from the ninja program. Bear had the overwhelming fear that Naoki Karamura had recruited these three remedial students to his cause.

* * *

><p><em>Same Time<em>

_Konoha Main Street_

Sasuke was taking a break for dinner. Even he couldn't train on an empty stomach all day.

It was the distressed sound of Ino calling his name, however, that had his attention at that very moment.

"Sasuke, Sasuke…"

"What, Ino?"

"Sasuke, something's wrong with the mission Sakura's on. The three ninja she was supposed to go with, I just had an ANBU question me about them. Sasuke, they don't exist, there is no one in the medic-nin program by that name. I would know, I'm in charge of processing the new applicants. Sasuke, I think Sakura is in trouble, someone set things up to get her out of the village. We have to help her!"

"Ino, are you sure?" asked Sasuke, all he got as a response was an annoyed glare. Of course Ino was sure, she wouldn't joke about Sakura's safety, ever.

Sasuke grabbed Ino's wrist and began walking towards the Hokage tower. This could be big, life altering big, world changing big, at least as far as Sasuke was concerned. If something happened to Sakura while he wasn't there, he would never forgive himself.

Two minutes later he found himself before the Hokage's office door. The door was locked, but Sasuke had already decided that today was no day for pleasantries, if Sakura was in trouble, he owed it to himself, and Naruto, to act, whatever the cost.

And so he acted.

The Hokage's office door was never designed to withstand a Chidori.

Unfortunately knocking down the Hokage's office door tends to cause certain ANBU to think they are under attack.

It was only Ino's presence that saved Sasuke from a quick death by the Hokage's guards.

She stepped between the oncoming ANBU and Sasuke. Ino was one of only three people the Hokage had instructed to allow to enter her office without question. The delay her actions caused allowed cooler heads to prevail, as Sasuke made no further aggressive moves.

"What is the meaning of this, Uchiha? We are in an emergency meeting! Get Out!" demanded the Hokage.

"Sakura Haruno," was all Sasuke said. It was all he had to say.

"How do you know?" asked Tsunade.

"I told him, ANBU questioned me about her companions, who don't exist, someone orchestrated her absence from the village. We need to do something," interjected Ino.

Tsunade took a deep breath before continuing.

"Ino, Sasuke, we are aware of a plot to move against Sakura. She wasn't targeted specifically, a leaf chunin, one involved in mission selection, was blackmailed into dispatching a high value target on a dummy mission."

"I'm going. Where is she?" Sasuke Uchiha had made up his mind.

"I forbid it!" stated Tsunade bluntly. "You are still on probation. You may not leave this village without my leave, Sasuke, and that is something I expressly refuse to give. If you go, you will be declared a missing nin and traitor. I am dispatching ANBU operatives to retrieve Sakura."

"I'm going! I will not sit idly by while my best friend, my brothers love, is out there, unaware of a plot to capture her, or worse. Probation or no, I choose my death over hers."

Ino was shocked. When she had gone to Sasuke, she had hoped the two of them would be able to go rescue her friend. She had never realized the consequences such an action might have for Sasuke. Ino wanted to save Sakura, but she couldn't accept Sasuke just throwing his life away. Couldn't they let ANBU handle it? Wasn't Tsunade's solution a viable alternative?

"Sasuke, can't we let ANBU deal with this? Isn't Sakura strong enough for us to trust them with it?" asked Ino.

"Ino, yes, Sakura is powerful, but not only do we not know the strength of the enemy she is facing, she is alone, and protecting three non-combatants. I can't stand by and do nothing. Ino, she is my teammate. What if it was Shikamaru or Choji, what would you do?" replied a Sasuke Uchiha that few had seen.

The man he truly was was showing forth, full of conviction, for Ino, the Hokage, for everyone present to see. A huge chunk of Sasuke's shell fell away that day.

Ino stood there, aware of the truth of Sasuke's words, in awe of the man he showed himself to be, but hoping that there could be some other way than his death. That day she found someone she could believe in.

The Hokage could hardly believe her eyes. Sasuke Uchiha, this was Sasuke Uchiha. No longer the avenger! No longer a brooding hurt teenager without a home or family! This was a man standing before her. A man full of power and conviction, a man who's family had been threatened. A man who would do anything, even lay down his life, for that family. A family of three.

Team Seven, scattered to the winds it may be, but it was finally, irrevocably, whole. And, Tsunade would later reflect that this would also be the moment that the inevitable addition of a fourth member to that family begun.

"Uchiha," everyone turned to the Hokage at her words.

"Given the fact that I cannot stop you, and the fact that I don't want to kill you over this, you have my blessing. You, along with Team Ten will leave immediately to retrieve Sakura Haruno. All necessary force is authorized, though if possible I would like to know who has the audacity to strike at the leaf so openly. An attack on my family is an attack on me. An attack on the Hokage is an attack on Konoha itself. We will respond. Now, go bring her home."

And so it was that Sasuke Uchiha received his first mission outside the Leaf Village, accompanied by Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji.

To Be Continued

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Well, that was different than how I expected it to go, Sasuke was going to take a lot longer to accept his place, and his family, but the chapter, at least that part, seemed to write itself, at least once I got past the writer's block. Anyway, I hope you don't think I'm rushing things with Sasuke's development as a character, but this sort of thing was inevitable if he returned to the leaf.

Sasuke is still Sasuke. He is just not being quite so aloof, especially when it comes to his family, Team 7. I would also point out that it was a high pressure situation, people's true colours tend to show when they are under pressure.

Again I would like to apologize for the delays. I would say here just how long the next chapter will be, but I don't really know anymore. Sadly the next two weeks are the busiest of my year, 16 hour days, little time for anything but work and sleep.

I will update when I can, and as always, I promise to finish this.


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